We’re especially proud of our faculty—prominent scholars and real-world professionals at the top of their fields who value mentoring students as much as they value excellence in the classroom. Through their teaching, scholarly achievements and first-hand experience, you’ll gain a special entry point to politics and governance.

Department Chair

Candice J. Nelson is a Professor in the Department of Government and the Academic Director of the Campaign Management Institute. She is an expert on presidential and congressional elections, and also …

Last name starts with B

Andrew BallardAssistant Professor

David BarkerProfessorSPA - Government

David C. Barker is Professor of Government and Director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies (CCPS). He was previously Director of the Institute for Social Research (ISR) at Califo…

Last name starts with C

Kimberly Cowell-MeyersAssistant ProfessorSPA - Government

Kimberly Cowell-Meyers is Assistant Professor of Government. An AU alumna, she has taught at AU, St. Mary's College of Maryland and Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA. She is the autho…

Last name starts with E

Chris EdelsonAssistant ProfessorSPA - Government

Chris Edelson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Government. His teaching and research interests focus on presidential national security power under the U.S. Constitution. His first book, …

Todd EisenstadtProfessorSPA - Government

Professor Eisenstadt is on leave for 2018-19 at the World Bank, where he is a Council on Foreign Relations Fellow at the Development Economics Research Group (DECRG) and the Climate Investment Funds (…

Ronald ElvingExecutive in ResidenceSPA - Government

Last name starts with F

Betsy Fischer Martin is an Emmy-winning journalist and TV news executive. Currently she is Executive Director of AU School of Public Affairs' Women & Politics Institute and an SPA Executive in Residen…

G. Borden FlanaganAssistant ProfessorSPA - Government

On research leave at the University of Toronto for the academic year 2014-2015.
Borden Flanagan’s area of expertise is the history of Western political philosophy. His teaching and research interests …

Last name starts with G

Jeff GillDistinguished ProfessorSPA - Government

Jeff Gill - a Distinguished Professor of Government, Professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, and a Member of the
Center Behavioral Neuroscience at American University. He is also the …

Susan GloverAssistant ProfessorSPA - Government

Professor Glover teaches and does research in the field of comparative politics, with a concentration on Africa. Her past work has focused on democratic transition and consolidation in multi-ethnic st…

Harry GrundyAdjunct Professorial LecturerSPA - Government

Last name starts with H

Eric HershbergDirector, Center for Latin American and Latino StudiesCenter for Latin American/Latino Studies

Eric Hershberg is director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies and a professor of government at American University. From 2007-2009 he was President of the Latin American Studies Assoc…

Sarah HouserProfessorial LecturerSPA - Government

Sarah L. Houser is a professorial lecturer in the Department of Government in the School of Public Affairs at American University. Her research and teaching interests include patriotism and cosmopolit…

Last name starts with I

Gregg IversProfessorSPA - Government

Gregg Ivers is Professor of Government in the School of Public Affairs at American University. Professor Ivers is the author or editor of eight books, including To Build a Wall: American Jews and the …

Last name starts with J

Jeremy JanowProfessorial LecturerSPA - Government

Last name starts with L

Adrienne LeBasAssociate ProfessorSPA - Government

Adrienne LeBas (PhD, Columbia University) joined the Department of Government in the fall of 2009. Prior to joining AU, LeBas was a Prize Research Fellow at Nuffield College, University of Oxford, and…

Jan LeighleyProfessorSPA - Government

Jan E. Leighley's research and teaching interests focus on American political behavior, voter turnout, election laws, and racial/ethnic political behavior. She has published in the American Political …

William LeoGrandeAssociate Vice Provost for Academic AffairsSPA - Government

Professor of Government and a specialist in Latin American politics and U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America, Professor LeoGrande has been a frequent adviser to government and private sector agenc…

Alan LevineDirector, Political Theory Institute and Associate ProfessorSPA - Government

Jie LuAssociate ProfessorSPA - Government

Dr. Lu studies local governance, the political economy of institutional change, public opinion, and political participation. His regional expertise focuses on the Greater China Region and East Asia. H…

David LublinProfessorSPA - Government

The recipient of two grants from the National Science Foundation grants and a fellowship from the German Marshall Fund, David Lublin has authored three books, including Minority Rules: Electoral Syste…

Last name starts with M

Paul ManuelDistinguished Scholar in ResidenceSPA - Government

Paul Christopher Manuel is the director of the SPA Leadership Program. He is also the Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer and Distinguished Scholar in Residence in the Department of Government.
Manuel …

Thomas MerrillAssociate ProfessorSPA - Government

Thomas Merrill is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Affairs. He is the author of Hume and the Politics of Enlightenment (Cambridge, 2015), which won the Delba Winthrop Prize for Best Rece…

Last name starts with N

Candice J. Nelson is a Professor in the Department of Government and the Academic Director of the Campaign Management Institute. She is an expert on presidential and congressional elections, and also …

Saul NewmanAssociate Dean for Undergraduate EducationSPA - Government

Saul Newman is an associate professor in the Department of Government in the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, DC. He received his PhD in 1989 from the Department of Polit…

Last name starts with O

Karen O’Connor is the Jonathan N. Helfat Distinguished Professor of Political Science at American University, where she previously served as Chair of the Department of Government. She is an expert on …

Last name starts with Q

James QuirkProfessorial LecturerSPA - Government

Jim Quirk teaches a wide range of courses in American and comparative politics. He serves as faculty advisor to the SPA Leadership program and as faculty advisor to The World Mind, AU's undergraduate …

Elizabeth ShermanAssistant ProfessorSPA - Government

Professor Sherman brings over two decades of teaching, research and administrative experience to her classes in American Politics. As founding director of the Center for Women in Politics and Public P…

Diane SingermanAssociate ProfessorSPA - Government

Dr. Singerman is an Associate Professor and comparativist whose research interests focus on political change from below, particularly in the Middle East, and more specifically Egypt. Her work examines…

William SweeneyDistinguished Practitioner

Patricia SykesAssociate ProfessorSPA - Government

Professor Sykes focuses on the U.S. presidency, comparative executive leadership, political parties, democratic theory, and political development. She's the sole author of two scholarly books – Presid…

Last name starts with T

Steven TaylorAssociate ProfessorSPA - Government

Professor Taylor's teaching and research focus on urban politics, the politics of race and ethnicity, civil rights and liberties, and political culture both in the U.S. and West Africa. (During the Sp…

James ThurberDistinguished ProfessorSPA - Government

Last name starts with W

Matthew WrightAssociate ProfessorSPA - Government

Professor Wright has taught courses on American politics, public opinion, political psychology, immigration, and political methodology. In his research, he has explored numerous topics relevant to Ame…